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Chiara Francesca Arianna d'Onofrio

Opus interrasile
Silver Medallions

A brief History of the Opus interrasile

The Romans began to show this type of work in their metals. This type
of worked silver migrated northward to the Irish region. There the work
took on a more intricate turn and used more silver than gold. There are
five surviving examples found in Pentney, Norfolk. They are in the British
Museum. They are dated late eighth century. I have the book with me so
that you may view the work.

I did not wish to have my first attempt to be as intricate as these.
It took me two months to cut these creatures. Those broaches look as
if they took a lifetime each. I do suspect that they may be partially
opus interrasile and partial cast.

The Byzantine used it in as much gold work as they could. Very little
silver work has been found prior to the 1600's. That point on it is seen
in dishes, utensils, and the back of mirrors. The only source I have
found for its use in jewelry has been in far distant past. Everything
else has been cast work and engraving. It was difficult then as it is
now.

Summary

The first time I created medallions of this type documenting their possible
existence in Northern Europe in the early centuries was not one of the
top five things in my mind. Creating something for two S.C.A. members
that influenced me greatly was. I am only lucky that such an item existed
in that time period and area.

The technique today is known as cutwork. In the beginning, it was called
Opus interrasile. This is Latin phrase meaning work openings or piercing.
The concept describes two movements of work, one is the actual piercing
the other is the actual cutting in a lateral direction.

I took a 2-inch diameter disk of fine silver and took the sketches of
the embroidered rendition of the heraldry I had drawn on rice paper and
glued it onto the metal. I pierced small holes into the points of the
drawing at points where I could insert the saw blades into and cut a
smooth straight line.

The heraldry is called the sun in splendor. It is from "Elizabeth's
Wardrobe unlocked". I will spend one week of the two months flattening
and polishing the disk. This is my third endeavor in silver Opus interrasil.

In 3500, BC the first bronze saw was found. There is evidence of Neolithic
stone saws. Many scholars feel that the cutting technique can be further
traced to those periods. However, the particular art form I have used
was done with a saw developed specifically for cutwork in ancient Rome.
The saw I speak of is a fine metal saw blade held in a "c" shaped
frame under tension. The frame is presumed by archeologist to have been
made of wood.

The rice paper is the paper of choice of my academic teacher, James
Lynn of Austin, Texas. He was a traditionalist and cited sources from
Japan that I could not find. He stated that this is the true way of transposing
your image to the metal. Tracing paper is ok but rice is better and easier
to clean off. I made a print out of the sun on the normal paper. The
sun's images were found in the pages of Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlocked
and the Fox-Davies book of heraldry. I used water-soluble glue to adhere
it to the disk.

I used two different drill bits to pierce holes wherever a corner was
created by the design. I carefully inserted my saw blades into the drilled
holes while the blade was in the frame and created the tension I needed
to cut the silver but not break my blades. I connected the pierces with
as much curve as was allowable by the tension. Unfortunately the blades
that I needed for the bit size that I used were not available and I had
to use the next size down. (Mental note to self: practice with drill
bit and saw blade on sample metal because gauges are not the same size!)

Once the cutting is complete, polishing begins. I used a polishing lathe
with a varieties of fine grits so not to take too much of the silver
away. Once that was completed, I buffed the disk.

A brief History of the Opus interrasile

The Romans began to show this type of work in their metals. This type
of work was introduced northward to the Irish region. There the work
took on a more intricate turn and used more silver than gold. There are
five surviving examples found in Pentney, Norfolk. They are in the British
Museum. They are dated late eighth century.

I did not wish to have my first attempt to be as intricate as this.
Those broaches look as if they took a lifetime each. I do suspect that
they may be partially opus interrasile and partial cast.

The Byzantine used it in as much gold work as they could. Very little
silver work has been found prior to the 1600's. From this point on it
is seen in dishes, utensils, and the back of mirrors. The only source
I have found for its use in jewelry has been in far distant past. Everything
else has been cast work and engraving. It was difficult then as it is
now.

Baronessa Chiara Francesca Arianna d'Onofrio

Bibliography

JEWELRY, 7,000 Years: An International History and Illustrated Survey
from the Collections of the British Museum.
Edited by Hugh Tait.
Harry N. Abrams Inc., Publishers, New York 1987
pp. 110, 111, 206, 236, 243.